William Francis Clements
From Our Contribution
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth |
not known "not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
| Place of Birth | Dimboola, Victoria |
| Death | 15 Sep 1986, aged 91 |
| Place of Death | Nedlands, Western Australia |
| Age at Enlistment | 21 years old |
| Description |
5'9" (1.75m) tall ; 154 lbs 69.853 kg ; fair complexion ; grey eyes ; red hair |
| Occupation | Loco fireman |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Address | Jarrahdale, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Father , Mr Francis Clements |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 279 |
| Date of Enlistment | 24 Mar 1916 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 4th machine Gun Company, 4th Reinforcements (4th MG Battalion) / 4th Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 17 Apr 1916 ‒ 14 May 1916 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A60 Aeneas |
| Date of Return | 2 Jan 1919 ‒ 8 Feb 1919 |
| Ship Returned On | SS Karmala |
| Fate |
Wounded in Action 14 Apr 1917 Bullecourt area Returned to Australia |
| Monument |
Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
War Service
Enlisted at Cue. Within three weeks of entering camo, Bill was on his way to Egypt.
On 29 May 1916 Bill boarded the HMT Corsican in Alexandria, destination Plymouth, England where on arriving on 11 Jun 1916 he was sent to the Machine Gun Training Depot at Grantham. While at Grantham Bill was AWOL from 8:45am 8 Oct 1916 till 8:00am 9 Oct 1916, resulting in 7 days Confined to Barracks (CB) and loss of 2 day's pay.
In November 1916 he spent 4 days in hospital and then, nearing readiness for France, Bill was again AWOL (5-7 Feb 1917) this time from 11pm one day until 11am two days later, forfeiting 3 day's pay, and being awarded 2 days Confined to Barracks.
On 1 Mar 1917 he proceeded overseas to Boulogne in France and joined the 4th Machine Gun Company. On 14 Apr 1917 Bill was Wounded in Action with a wound to the head. Next day he was admitted to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. Two days later (the 17th) he was in the 7th Convalescent Depot.
On 4 May 1917 he was admitted to the 51st General Hospital in Étaples with Venereal Disease. Total period he was incapacitated was 133 days, and he rejoined the Machine Gun Depot on 15 Sep 1917, only to be readmitted to the 51st General Hospital two days later on 17 Sep 1917. This time his period of ineffective service was 59 days.
Bill rejoined his unit in the field on 15 Nov 1917, remaining with them until he was again hospitalised on 7 May 1918 due to an unknown illness. On 21 May 1918 he was evacuated to England aboard HMHS Carisbrook Castle and he was admitted to the Stratford on Avon War Hospital the next day. On 22 May 1918 he was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield for 10 days before moving on to No.3 Convalescent Depot. He was to then spend brief intervals at No3. Command Depot and then No 1 Command Depot before boarding a ship for Australia. In January 1919 Bill was sent home to Australia with Trench Fever.
Post War
In 1921 Bill married Olive Maud Hodson. On 22 Mar 1922 a son was born in Fremantle. Olive died in East Fremantle aged 57 on 30 Jun 1955.
Electoral Roll entries - 1922 at 27 East street Fremantle railway employee; 1925 at 36 Barnett street, East Fremantle; 1931 at Windsor road, East Fremantle; 1936 - 1943 listed as Francis William - at 222 Piccadilly street, Kalgoorlie; 1954 - 1977 at 28 Windsor road, East Fremantle, SEC employee.
Notes